


Welcome Coincidences

by Practicemakesperfect



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: BaekDo - Freeform, DoBaek, M/M, Slow Burn, baeksoo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 06:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20371867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Practicemakesperfect/pseuds/Practicemakesperfect
Summary: When Baekhyun meets the sneezing man on the train and offers him a tissue, he doesn't expect much to come out of it. It's as innocent a move as the next; one act of kindness before he moves on with his day.Little does he know fate has something else in store for him. As coincidence after coincidence start to line up after their fateful meeting, Baekhyun starts to realize that maybe there's a reason to everything, and that he might have just stumbled upon a stranger that would be the inevitable importance of his life.





	Welcome Coincidences

**Author's Note:**

> Because I didn't feel satisfied with yesterday's slow-ass burn (ah, best friend AUs.) Here we have another slow burn, but it's a lot more bearable because Kyungsoo is one helluva flirt.
> 
> Enjoy :)

Okay, Baekhyun thought the person next to him was dying.

Seriously, he’d been sneezing non-stop for the past ten minutes, and it got to the point that people actually started moving to a different part of the train just to get away from whatever virus was giving him that sort of agony. Baekhyun kept nervously glancing to the side just to make sure he was okay, but it didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

After one particularly long strand of sneezes the stranger muttered, “it doesn’t end until I end,” and Baekhyun turned.

“Are-are you okay?”

The stranger laughed. “Sorry, did I say that out loud? Don’t worry. This--” sneeze “happens all the time.”

“Allergies?” Baekhyun asked sympathetically, rummaging through his bag to see if he could find tissues. He handed a pack to the guy who said a quiet “thank you” before nodding.

“I might have gotten a little overconfident with my friend’s cat… it’s nothing life-threatening. Just annoying. And really bad for socializing.” He gestured a little embarrassed at the empty room. “Thanks for sticking around.”

“I was just concerned.” Baekhyun waved off the stranger’s attempt to return the napkins and said, “what’s that about a cat?”

“Ah, yeah. My friend Minseok got a new cat recently… I guess he forgot I was allergic because it was wandering around when I was over, begging to be petted.”

Baekhyun laughed. “And I’m guessing you couldn’t resist the urge?”

“The real question is what monster would be able to.” The stranger smiled. “I’m Kyungsoo, by the way.”

“Baekhyun.” Baekhyun watched Kyungsoo sneeze again and hummed. “It doesn’t seem to be getting any better.”

“It’s fine. I’m off the next stop anyway. I can grab some medicine on my way home.”

The next stop? Baekhyun blinked. “That’s funny. That’s my stop, too. Want some company?”

“Why not?” Kyungsoo smiled at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun couldn’t help but return the gesture. “I can’t say no to a cute stranger.”

Baekhyun choked. Cute stranger? No one had ever called him that in his life.

Now Kyungsoo’s smile was apologetic. “Sorry, too much?”

“No, um.” Great. He was probably blushing. “No, not too much. You look pretty… dandy, too.”

Oof. Baekhyun tried not to wince at his own reply. Dandy? Really? That was the best he could come up with?

Kyungsoo seemed to find it amusing though, much to Baekhyun’s relief. “I’ve never heard that one before. Are you the kind of guy that strives to be original?”

“I’m just the kind of guy that strives to make any situation awkward.” Baekhyun scratched the back of his head. “You’re really good at conversing.”

“Not really. You’re just easy to talk to.” Before Baekhyun could reply, maybe fumble a little more at the compliment, the speakers announced their stop. Kyungsoo stood. “Coming?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Baekhyun got up too and the two of them stepped out of the train onto the platform. Kyungsoo was still sneezing, but it wasn’t as bad as before.

When they got to the parking lot, Baekhyun froze. He didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t like he’d brought a car--he didn’t live too far from the train station so he usually walked. But he couldn’t just invite himself to Kyungsoo’s car, because that would be weird and also he was a stranger. 

Kyungsoo seemed to notice his internal debate and said, “ah, right. I was just going to walk to the drugstore nearby but if you need to get home…”

Baekhyun perked up. “No, that’s actually perfect. It’s on the way.”

They fell into step with each other as they crossed the parking lot and strolled to the store. As awkward as Baekhyun felt, he didn’t want to leave. Something about the stranger was magnetic… maybe it was his way of talking that just seemed so easy, or just the fact that they both seemed to be on the same wavelength in terms of likes and dislikes. They kept up small talk as they walked, discussing even as Kyungsoo searched the aisles for the medicine he needed. By the end of their little excursion together, Baekhyun found it was hard to go.

“So, I guess you should be heading home.” Kyungsoo was holding the small bag with both of his hands, a position that Baekhyun found weirdly endearing considering the bag was probably light enough for a two-year-old to carry. Baekhyun nodded.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Neither of them moved. After a moment Baekhyun reached into his pocket. “Um, if you want… let’s exchange numbers? I had fun talking to you and it’d be a shame if this was the last time.”

At the suggestion, Kyungsoo brightened. Baekhyun felt relieved. “Sounds good,” he said. Baekhyun handed him his phone and Kyungsoo typed in his number. Then he paused. “Oh, shoot. It’s already six? I have to get back home… I’m sorry! I hope that’s the right number. Call me whenever. Um… yeah, sorry again. Talk to you later?” 

That last bit was hopeful, and when Baekhyun nodded Kyungsoo beamed. “See you,” he said. Kyungsoo waved goodbye and hurried away. Baekhyun blinked after him. He looked down at his phone, where the new contact was still on the screen. _Doh Kyungsoo._ What a strangely familiar name.

Oh well, Baekhyun thought. It was probably nothing.

…

Baekhyun laid in bed trying to remember what Kyungsoo had said. Was it “call me whenever” or “text me whenever?” Why did he remember it being “call?” That didn’t make any sense… no one would suggest to call right off the bat anymore, right? Not when texting was a thing. Either he’d heard wrong or Kyungsoo had misspoken. Either way, Baekhyun had to contact the number. The day was almost over, and he’d promised he would.

Making up his mind, Baekhyun opened a text log and typed in a message: _Hey, Kyungsoo! It’s Baekhyun from this afternoon. How’s your day been?_

He stared at it. Then promptly deleted it. Why would he ask how his day was when he saw him for a good portion of it? It sounded so old fashioned but also weirdly close. No--he couldn’t text that.

Baekhyun contemplated a good first text for the next ten minutes before finally settling on sweet but simple: _Hey, it’s Baekhyun. Kyungsoo, right? I hope I got the right number!_

After a long period of tense hesitation Baekhyun hit send and watched the bubble blip on the screen. Now to wait for Kyungsoo’s response… which came not even two minutes later.

Kyungsoo: Good evening! Yeah, you got the right number. How’s your day been? (Baekhyun almost hit himself when he read the last sentence.)

You: It’s been good. I’m glad this number was right.

Kyungsoo: Me too. If it wasn’t, that might’ve ended up being it between the two of us. (Baekhyun spent five minutes speculating what that meant before he realized he should probably reply.)

Baekhyun: That would be sad. You seem like a really fun person.

Kyungsoo: If only my friends thought that haha. You seem fun too :)  
Kyungsoo: This isn’t a bad time, right? I don’t want to keep you from anything important.

Baekhyun saw this message later--he was preoccupied with a text from Chanyeol, telling him about the date he had planned.

Chanyeol: He’s really hot. I mean, his profile pic is hot, but I bet he’s just as hot in real life.

Baekhyun: You think everyone is hot.

Chanyeol: I’m serious this time. Plus he liked the music I sent him, so.

Baekhyun: Wow, what a keeper. You don’t meet a guy like that every dynasty.

Chanyeol: Hey what are you saying about my music

Baekhyun: Nothing. It’s just an innocent reference to Mulan. Anyway, what’s the dude’s name?

Chanyeol: Doh Kyungsoo.

No way. Baekhyun almost choked.

When Chanyeol picked up the phone, he sounded confused.

“Why are you calling me?”

“Chanyeol. I need a pic of Kyungsoo like right now.”

“Why? You never want to see pre-date pics because you don’t believe in--”

“I think I met Kyungsoo.”

Chanyeol’s voice turned to interest. “Really?” Pause. “Was he hot?”

Baekhyun coughed. “He was… well, he was more like cute, I guess? His voice is really attractive. He’s also really sweet.”

“No way…” Chanyeol gasped. “You like him? You like my online date?”

“I don’t _like_ him,” Baekhyun said, searching. “I… okay,” he admitted. “Maybe I do. A little. But we just met and we only talked for, like, an hour.”

Chanyeol groaned. “Oh, man. Baekhyun, you suck. He was really hot, too.”

“How is he hot?” All Baekhyun could think about was how he was carrying the small bag like it was a flower basket, or something. But he didn’t bring that up. Instead he said, “he wears glasses.”

“Glasses can be hot,” Chanyeol said defensively. “But actually his profile pic didn’t have him wearing glasses. Anyway, he’s attractive. And he likes my music. But I can’t go on a date with him because you like him now. _And_ you already met him.”

“You could still go on a date…” Baekhyun said half-heartedly. Honestly, he didn’t want Chanyeol to go, either. And then a thought occurred to him. “What happened to Sehun?”

“The hot dancer? Oh, right! Funny story. He’s actually the one who introduced me to Kyungsoo on the site.”

“...what?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. He didn’t message me after that, so. Apparently they’re roommates.” Chanyeol hummed. “Maybe I should talk to him again. He was pretty cute.”

Baekhyun sighed. Chanyeol was hurting his head. “Okay, do that, then.”

“I don’t want to cancel the date with Kyungsoo, though. We already planned it a week ago in advance…” suddenly, Chanyeol sounded excited. “Why don’t you go instead?”

“What?!”

“Come on, you met him already. You like him. This is just another chance to get to know him.”

Baekhyun swallowed. Was that really okay? Kyungsoo had set the date with Chanyeol, not Baekhyun. “I don’t know…”

“Just do it,” Chanyeol said. “I’ll let him know I won’t be going and that you’ll be going instead. It’ll be fine. I’m doing it right now, actually.”

“Are you--what--you can’t actually be--” A buzz on his phone interrupted his incredulous stream of sentence fragments. He pulled the phone from his face to see the unread texts from Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo: If only my friends thought that haha. You seem fun too :)  
Kyungsoo: This isn’t a bad time, right? I don’t want to keep you from anything important.  
Kyungsoo: So Chanyeol just told me you’re going to our date tomorrow…

Baekhyun grabbed his extra pillow and buried his face in it, face hot. Leave it to Chanyeol to never think before he acted. In the distance, he heard Chanyeol call his name, confused as to why he wasn’t talking anymore. Baekhyun put the phone on speakerphone and let his fingers hover over the screen. “I can’t believe you just did that,” Baekhyun said, interrupting Chanyeol’s Baekhyun Chant. “He just texted me about it.”

“Really? What did he say?”

Baekhyun ignored Chanyeol and typed in a reply to Kyungsoo.

You: Yeah… I told him about meeting you and he kind of got the wrong idea.

Kyungsoo: You talked about me? If he got the wrong idea and made you go on the date instead… either your commentary was so good he felt bad for taking the spot, or it was so bad he forced you into taking it.

You: The former. All good things, I promise. But… is that okay? If I go in place of Chanyeol, I mean.

Kyungsoo: Well, it foils my plan to get Chanyeol to meet Sehun instead, but I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to seeing you again.

You: Oh, you had a plan? Sorry for getting in the way, then. 

Kyungsoo: He could always go the direct route. He wanted to go in my place instead to meet Chanyeol since he’s too much of a scaredy cat to just dm him instead. It’s a kind of long story, but he actually didn’t mean to hook me up with Chanyeol… I feel like Chanyeol’s a bit too happy-go-lucky to realize, though.

You: Yep, that’s him. Well, if we’re meeting tomorrow  
You: maybe we can figure out a plan and become the ultimate matchmakers together.

Kyungsoo: Haha sounds like a plan. Did Chanyeol already give you the info?

You: Yep. 1:00 for lunch. He’s going to send me the location soon.

Kyungsoo: Sounds like a date, then. I’ll see you tomorrow?

You: See you tomorrow :)

Baekhyun put the phone down and hugged his pillow, rolling around a bit before settling on his side. He was going on a date. And it would be with a stranger he’d met on the train, the stranger who just so happened to be cute and sweet and friendly and also Chanyeol-approved. He wasn’t sure this was real, but it was beyond anything he could have imagined would happen to him.

“Hey, Baekhyun… are you fanboying right now?”

“Shut up. But also thanks.”

He could practically hear his best friend’s grin over the phone. “Anything for you, Baek. I’m going to hang up now, but enjoy the complimentary screenshot I shared with you. ‘Night.”

“‘Night,” Baekhyun mumbled, and the line went off. Baekhyun laid there for a moment before he picked up his phone again and went to Chanyeol’s messages. He almost fainted on the spot.

Kyungsoo without his glasses, a suit and tie. Hair styled perfectly to accent his dark gaze, and red lips plush and to die for.

Okay. Baekhyun admitted it. Chanyeol was right about Kyungsoo being hot.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are the carbs I burn for writer's energy :)
> 
> P.S. I swear I know that allergies aren't caused by viruses okay it was Baek's pov so he didn't know it was an allergy yet


End file.
